Warriors two worlds collide
Chapter 2 Welcome to the pridelands.
Kion, Kiara, Kovu and the lion guard led the cats across the pridelands towards pride rock. The cats were astonished to see the rock structure. They followed the pridelanders up where they saw some other lions.
There was a male lion with brownish-gold fur and a red mane, the lioness who was next to him had creamy tawny fur and blue eyes. Two other lionesses around Kiara's age were there too. One had creamy colored fur and green eyes, the other had tawny fur and blue eyes.
"Mom, dad," said Kiara. "We have visitors."
Simba and Nala turned around to see Kiara, Kovu and the lion guard step aside to reveal the cats. The king and queen walked up to them.
"Greetings," said Bramblestar bowing his head respectfully. "I am Bramblestar, leader of Thunderclan. This is my mate and deputy Squirrelflight, our medicine cat Leafpool and some of our warriors, Lionblaze, Ivypool, Twigbranch and Finleap."
Simba looked at Bramblestar, he noticed how compared to the other cats in the group, his dark brown fur looked glossy and his amber eyes shone like stars. It was no surprise he was a leader. He and Nala returned the bow at him and his clanmates.
"Greetings Bramblestar," said Simba kindly. "I am Simba, king of the pridelands and this is my mate and queen Nala."
Bramblestar and the other cats looked at each other in confusion upon hearing the king's words.
"King?" Squirrelflight whispered to her sister.
"You don't look like you're expecting kits" said Ivypool observing Nala.
"What are they talking about?" Bunga whispered to the others surprised. Shabaha and Fuli shrugged.
"They've probably never heard the words before" suggested Ono.
"What are you talking about?" asked Nala also in confusion.
"In the clans, queens are cats who are expecting kits or are nursing them" explained Ivypool.
The pridelanders all began to understand.
"Well, a king is like a leader," explained Simba. "And Nala isn't the kind of queen you're talking about. A queen is what a king's mate is called."
The cats began to understand what the king was talking about, but they were still puzzled.
"Nala and I rule the pridelands," continued Simba. "Kiara and Kion are the prince and princess, those are titles of the king and queen's children, Kiara is the oldest so someday she will be queen and as Kovu is her mate he will be king."
"You rule this whole land?" asked Bramblestar.
Simba nodded.
"In the forest where we're from, no one rules it," said Bramblestar. "Each clan's leader rules over its own territory."
"They say they're from a forest from somewhere else," said Kion. "That they found a cave in their forest and led them here."
"It's like Starclan wanted us to find it" said Squirrelflight.
"What's Starclan?" asked Tiifu.
The tawny lioness just shrugged.
"Starclan is the place where the cats in the clans go when they die," explained Leafpool. "They guide watch over us from the night sky and guide us through life."
"Kind of like the lions of the past," said Nala. "They're the spirits of our ancestors watching down on us from the night sky too."
Bramblestar looked at Simba, he had only met the king and he could see the courage and kind heart he had.
"You kind of remind me of Firestar" he spoke softly.
"Whose Firestar?" asked Simba, his expression confusing.
"He was the leader of Thunderclan before me," explained Bramblestar looking down, his ears dropping sadly. "He was Squirrelflight and Leafpool's father and my mentor when I was an apprentice. The greatest leader there ever was."
"He died a few seasons ago" added Squirrelflight.
"Oh, I'm so sorry" said Nala sympathetically.
"It's okay," said Squirrelflight giving a small smile. "He was a great leader that lived a long, wonderful life."
"How is Bramblestar leader instead of you or Leafpool since you're his daughters?" asked Ono.
"Leadership doesn't run in the bloodline like royalty does," explained Bramblestar. "In the clans when a leader dies or steps down, the deputy becomes the new leader. In the woods there's a cave that has a pool of water called a moonpool, Starclan cats has the ability to walk in our dreams when we're asleep, when a new leader steps up, they go to the moonpool and take on the name star."
Everyone stared in amazement by Bramblestar's claims. Simba listened observantly; he took note that all the leaders seemed to have the word star at the end part of their names.
"So, your name wasn't always Bramblestar?" he asked.
"No," admitted Bramblestar. "My warrior name was Brambleclaw. When I die, if Squirrelflight is still alive, she'll be the new leader."
"And I'm the medicine cat," explained Leafpool. "It's their jobs to heal the cats and communicate with Starclan. They send us prophecies and omens and we serve as advisors to our leaders."
"We should probably be getting back," said Finleap. "Our clanmates are probably wondering where we are."
"Yeah," agreed Ivypool. "I left my kits with my mate Fernsong, and they're probably getting worried.
"Wait Bramblestar," said Simba. "The other leaders of the clans, I'd like to meet them."
"I don't know Simba," said Bramblestar unsurely. "The clans can kind of stick to their own territory and we don't always get along, we end up fighting. Rule 2 in the warrior code is never hunt on another clan's territory."
"The warrior code?" asked Kovu.
"The warrior code is a list of rules that brings honor to the clans," explained Bramblestar. "Without it we'd be no better then rouges and outsiders. The first rule in the warrior code is that It's okay to have friends from the other clans, but a warrior is to put his own clan first."
"Sounds like the circle of life" Kion whispered to his friends, who all nodded in agreement.
"Surely there are times you and the other clans interact," said Nala.
"Yes," replied Bramblestar. "Every full moon all the clans gather together in peace to share news within in the clans and we all work together when we need too. The next gathering isn't too far away. I will talk to the other leaders and try to convince them to come."
Simba smiled appreciatively at the Thunderclan leader and the cats turned away, they walked back to the area where the cave was and went inside.
When they got out, they were back in their forest.
"I need to think about what to tell the other leaders at the gathering," declared Bramblestar as they walked back to their camp. "I want you to keep quiet about the Pridelands for now."
Squirrelflight and the others nodded in agreement and they headed back to the camp.
Author's note; Sorry about the long wait, I've been busy with other stories. Anyway, I hope you like it and I'll have the next chapter posted soon.
